Is it illegal to copy fashion designs?

[katen]

What is the name of your state? CA

Do fashion designs get patented? I am currently a boutique owner with a dream to maunufacture clothing. I love fashion and keep up with whats on the runway. Will I be infringing on anything if I were to create clothing siimilar to what I see on the desingers' runway. I will not be labeling it Chanel, Gucci, etc...but may use the same design. I have ssen many lookalikes in the market so I assume its okay? I wanted to be sure so I can either put my dream in progress or just stop dreaming all together.

Thanks in advance!
Kathy

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? CA

Do fashion designs get patented? I am currently a boutique owner with a dream to maunufacture clothing. I love fashion and keep up with whats on the runway. Will I be infringing on anything if I were to create clothing siimilar to what I see on the desingers' runway. I will not be labeling it Chanel, Gucci, etc...but may use the same design. I have ssen many lookalikes in the market so I assume its okay? I wanted to be sure so I can either put my dream in progress or just stop dreaming all together.

Thanks in advance!
Kathy

It's technically possible to get a design patent on a fashion design, but fashion changes rapidly enough that I doubt anyone generally bothers with design patents. A particular design will certainly be covered by copyright -- whether or not anyone bothers to enforce their copyright is another question. Whether your designs would infringe the genuine article's copyright would depend on just how closely you copied the design elements of the genuine article -- there is no general answer saying "this is legal" or "this isn't legal."

As you noted, there appear to be many designer knockoffs on the market -- that could indicate that the manufacturers are not overly zealous in enforcing their copyrights. But that doesn't mean copyright infringement ins't going on, and doesn't mean the owners couldn't change their minds about going after infringers.

Your best bet might be to sit down with a local copyright attorney, who can review all of the actual facts in your situation and advise you accordingly.

 

[FlyingRon]

It's technically possible to get a design patent on a fashion design, but fashion changes rapidly enough that I doubt anyone generally bothers with design patents. .

True, if you are copying a garment design it's probably not protected, but watch out for designer "signatures" and trademarks. While they may not do the entire product certain fabric patterns and accessories (buckles, etc...) may be protected.

 

[kathleen f]

Do fashion designs get patented?...Will I be infringing on anything if I were to create clothing siimilar to what I see on the desingers' runway. I will not be labeling it Chanel, Gucci, etc...but may use the same design. I have ssen many lookalikes in the market so I assume its okay?

Hi Kathy, it's not illegal provided you don't copy their trademarks. There is a move to change this but I think it unlikely to be approved. If you were thinking about other kinds of sewn products (engineered or utility items) the issue wouldn't be so clear cut and you could have problems.

I'm new here but responded to this because I'm very interested in the movement of retailers into manufacturing. I'm curious to see how they fill gaps in their merchandising mix. I know many have been quite happy with it. Do see my blog for advice on apparel manufacturing.

Regarding my blog, I would be interested in interviewing a fashion IP attorney if there were one here. My blog is highly trafficked (#1) so it would be good exposure.